Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935

zorro pelágico, zorro de mar, Smalltooth thresher shark, renard pélagiqueRenard pélagique, smalltooth thresher shark

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A small thresher with moderately large eyes, a broadly convex forehead, a very narrow caudal tip, and straight, broad-tipped pectoral fins (Ref. 5578). Upper lobe of caudal fin very long and strap-like, almost equal to length of rest of shark; lower lobe short but strong; terminal lobe very small (Ref. 13570). Dark blue on back and sides, underside white; no white patch over pectoral fin bases (Ref. 5578).

Tropical: oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); marine; depth range 0 - 300 m (Ref. 37816), usually 0 - 150 m (Ref. 55167) Pelagic-oceanic

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Elasmobranchii

Order
Lamniformes

Family
Alopiidae

Genus
Alopias

Species
pelagicus

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Status

Endangered

Distribution

Distribution: circumtropical

References

  • Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
  • Grove, J.S. Long, D.J., Robertson, D.R. & Victor, B.C. (2022) List of Fishes of the Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 39, 14–22.
  • IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2023-1. Https://www.iucnredlist.org
  • IUCN (2024) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2024-1. Https://www.iucnredlist.org

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Alopias pelagicus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12754. Accessed 6 June 2025.